An early and interesting tile from Sherwin
& Cotton, super quality and quite heavy
biscuit, super quality printing in a good, solid
black on a bright white body. The design
representing the flowering of the British Isles
with a vase giving forth the floral emblems of
England, Scotland and Ireland the vase itself
carrying the national coat of arms.

Designed for display and fixing offset or
diamond-wise although many were not as in the
case of traditional furniture and
fireplaces.

When displayed for collectors as an
individual work of art or as a feature tile set
diagonally there is an optical illusion in terms
of size the tile looks larger than six inch
indeed comparable to an eight inch tile square
on. Briefly this is because our eyes scan the
horizontal as the primary dimension, the world
is horizontal, it soon runs out when one looks
up, and our eyes are set side by side rather
than one above the other. With this effect
offset designs can fill more space whether
displayed on a wall or set in to a
splashback.

Verso very clean unmarked save for printed
pattern number S2. Believed to be the second
design by the company the number is glazed over
as is seen on some earlier tiles and is in a
bold style seen on other early Sherwin &
Cotton tiles.